Brussels, 11/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht is calling for a joint working group on regulation. He responds to criticism from his US counterpart, Michael Froman.
While the negotiations for a transatlantic trade and investment partnership agreement (TTIP) -which began in July (see EUROPE 10887) - have been delayed with this week's cancellation of the second round due to the partial shutdown of the US government, the parties have already agreed to move forward on the technical level on the regulatory chapter in order to submit an initial package of proposals to those politically responsible, De Gucht and Froman, in January 2014. And, on the political level, the debates between De Gucht and Froman are already heated
On the European side, De Gucht supported the idea, at the beginning of October, that the partners should base themselves on a package of horizontal rules to guide their regulatory cooperation. The idea is that Europe and the US should work for the mutual recognition of their regulations across a wide range of sectors, including the automobile sector, the health and phytosanitary sector, and financial services (see EUROPE 10932).
Putting together an initial concrete proposal, De Gucht called, on Thursday 10 October, for a joint working group to be set up which would coordinate the work of the US and EU regulatory bodies, with a view to more regulatory convergence. This monitoring group, which De Gucht calls the Regulatory Cooperation Council, would aim at reaching a common position on the types of rules and standards to be established in the future, rather than reorganising those currently in force. The idea would also be to put pressure on emerging powers like China so that they accept the standards developed by the EU and US on goods and services as global standards.
“The Council would monitor the implementation of commitments made and consider new priorities for regulatory cooperation - also in response to proposals from stakeholders. In some cases, it could also ask regulators or standards bodies to develop regulations jointly that could then have a good chance of becoming international standards. Strong institutions like this will be key to making the TTIP a living agreement that promotes greater compatibility of our regimes and accelerates the development of global approaches”, said De Gucht in a speech to a conference organised in Prague by the Aspen Institute. Although he did not give an example of specific sectors in his speech where the joint council would formulate rules or develop standards for the future, De Gucht stated that the TTIP should, in any case, support cooperation on technical automobile regulations and on the way in which medical devices are regulated.
On Thursday, De Gucht also promised once again that the regulatory convergence brought about by the TTIP would in no way weaken the standards currently in force. Friction could easily arise on agriculture and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) which are grown on a large scale in the US and which are regulated strictly in the EU. The EU has promised on several occasions not to return to legislation on GMOs. De Gucht also said that “neither side is going to renounce the right to regulate in future to reach the level of protection that their citizens choose”. In addition, he stressed that “nothing we will agree under this agreement will lower standards of protection”.
On this last point, De Gucht did not fail to respond to Froman who, during a speech in Brussels in October on the sidelines of his visit to De Gucht, had lambasted European standards bodies for being euro-centric, and he had suggested that the European authorities take inspiration from some aspects of the US approach to decision making, which is more transparent, in Froman's opinion. On Thursday, De Gucht responded to this, stressing the fact that the European system is “very transparent”, working in collaboration with all the stakeholders. De Gucht acknowledged, however, that the management of 28 member states, which often have differing agendas, needed further effort.
France sets up a committee to fight for its interests. This reflection and follow up committee will enable an exchange of information and the definition of a French position on the TTIP strategy, said France's Minister for Trade Nicole Bricq at the beginning of the week. “Such an agreement constitutes a democratic challenge”, she said, quoting financial services, the digital sector, agriculture, agro-food and culture as being among the sensitive areas. The first meeting of the committee, which will meet every three months, enabled other elements to be identified which should be taken into account in the negotiations - such as the impact of such an agreement on the large emerging countries like China, the differentials of competitiveness (including the low level of salaries, energy, access to credit, technological advances) and the need to check the handicaps and interests of the parties, said Bricq. The committee comprises nine members of the French parliament, five representatives from industry and four economists. (EH/transl.fl)